Under the Mistletoe
by SG1Rocker
Summary: Written for Shipmas on the SJ thread on GW. More detailed summary inside. Rating may change
1. The O'Neill Cabin

**-Title**: Under the Mistletoe: SG-1 Style

**-Summary**: SG-1's first Christmas after they defeat the Ori.

**-Pairings**: S/J all the way! (This was written for Shipmas after all.)

**-Note**: In the episode Uninvited, Sam mentions how she gets a call from the Silver Creek Sheriff's Department. We know they were at Jack's cabin and we know Jack's cabin is in Minnesota. Now, I'm from Minnesota and there's actually two Silver Creeks (both are townships) to speak of, (one in Lake County and one in Wright County), and because it's only like an hour to Duluth, I chose to put the cabin at the Silver Creek in Lake County. (You'll see why. It'll be good, I hope.)

**-Spoilers:** Vague mention of S10 events. Perhaps a little one from the upcoming episode Bounty, but it's probably too small for most people to catch on the first read.

**-Another Note:** One-Shot…if someone wants to write a sequel, then go ahead. This is also unrelated to my other fics.

**Under the Mistletoe: SG-1 Style**

Newly retired Major General Jack O'Neill parked his truck outside his Minnesota cabin, taking in the sight of Minnesota in winter. He loved it. Looking over at passenger, he smiled wider. "Sam." He said, running at hand up and down her arm to coax her to wake up.

Colonel Sam Carter's eyes flew open, slowly waking up. "Hmm?" She asked.

"We're here." He said.

She looked around. "It looks beautiful." She said, pausing a moment before reaching behind her to grab her coat. "What time did the others say they were going to show up?"

He looked at his watch. "It's noon now. Mitchell said they'd be here at about four." He said, opening his door.

Sam got out as well, and both of them carried in the various packages they had brought from Colorado. They had said they'd wait for the tree until the rest of them arrived, so once they stowed the packages away safely and turned on things in the cabin so by the time the others arrived it wouldn't be so cold, Jack pulled Sam down in front of the fireplace and the fire he had just made. Grabbing a blanket, he kissed the top of her head as he put it over them. "We've got a couple of hours yet." He said. "Go back to sleep." He told her softly.

She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder, eyes drifting closed.

Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell stopped the rental Ford F-350 in front of General O'Neill's cabin at four o'clock. "All right." He said, undoing his seat belt. "Let's grab the stuff and go on in." He said as everybody got out.

Vala put her Santa hat back on. This would be her first Earth Christmas, and she was rather excited about the prospect. "Absolutely. Colonel Carter mentioned another rousing game of poker tonight, and I'm quite excited to see who wins this time. Although, I'm not so sure. Her dashing General is here this time."

"Now, I don't see what the deal,"

"Oh please, Colonel Mitchell. Were you not there during the retirement ceremony?" She asked. "I'm sure that Daniel and Muscles aren't saying anything because they've known the two of them forever. But think about the way the General was looking at Colonel Carter." She said.

Daniel and Teal'c knew very well what was going on. The two had been together, really, since Jack's transfer to D.C and Sam's transfer to Area 51. They had been planning a ceremony, but Sam had been recalled to the SGC before it happened.

Teal'c grabbed the large cooler, motioning for Vala to follow him into the cabin. Vala announced their arrival loudly, and they walked into seeing them in the kitchen, working on lunch. "Hey Teal'c," Sam said, hugging him. "Hi Vala." She greeted the other woman.

"Hello Colonel Carter." Vala greeted in return.

"Where's Danny-boy and Mitchell?" Jack asked.

"Right her, sir." Mitchell said, following Daniel into the cabin.

"Retired, Mitchell!" He shouted.

"Yes…" He stumbled over his next few words. "Well, um, it's going to take some getting used to." He said.

Sam walked into the room, laughing at Cameron. "Come on you guys. The tree, very undecorated, is in here."

"We brought the decorations as requested, Colonel Carter." Teal'c said.

"So, tonight after supper can we decorate the tree?" Vala asked hopefully.

"Please tell her yes." Mitchell said. "It's all she and Teal'c have been talking about."

Sam nodded. "Absolutely. Jack's been asking me since we got here why we couldn't get started."

"Hey, in my defense I'm pretty sure there's a box or two of Christmas things around here somewhere." Jack said. "Who wants beer?" He asked. Hearing a chorus of "sure" coming from everyone, well, everyone except for Teal'c and he sure wasn't going to let Vala start drinking, he picked up a six-pack and took it in the living room. "T, I'm sure you have your own drink…" He said.

He nodded his head. "Indeed." Vala followed him into the kitchen to get their non-alcoholic beverages.

"So, when's Cassie coming up here?" Daniel asked, popping the top of his beer.

"She's in Minnesota right now, actually. Her last final of the semester was last week. She visited a friend at the University of Minnesota in Morris for a few days, and now she's visiting another friend at the University of Minnesota in Duluth." Sam said.

"That's where that Christmas concert is, right?" Cam asked.

Sam nodded. "We thought it would be nice for Vala. This being her first Christmas and all." Duluth was only about an hour away from the cabin, and the choir at the University was putting on a Christmas concert the next night. So, on the way up, Jack and Sam had stopped to pick up tickets for everyone and finalized plans with Cassie for after the concert. "We're meeting Cassie at the concert and she's coming back with us after it's over."

Jack said down next to Sam, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Should we tell them about the other thing?" He asked. "Cass is likely to say something, after all."

"Suppose we could." She answered, looking back up at him. "Although, if we tell Cassie to hold off, she would."

"Tell us what?" Mitchell asked, looking back and forth between the two as they spoke to each other.

"The reason we invited you to stay for New Years is because we're getting married." Sam said, threading her hand through his. "We wanted to do it before I took over for Caldwell on the Daedalus." Caldwell was going over to the newest Earth ship, the Liberty, to help get the crew trained. Sam was taking over his command for an indefinite amount of time as he was doing that.

"A wedding!" Vala said excitedly. "That's fantastic." She said, moving to hug Sam.

"Indeed." Teal'c said, clasping O'Neill's hand in a firm handshake, and then moving aside so Cam and Daniel could congratulate the two as well.

"So, what do you guys want to do for supper tonight?" Jack asked. "Silver Bay's not far. They have a great steakhouse." Jack said. "As long as Sam promises to stay away from the pool table, I mean, then it should be fine." He said with a smile.

"You're just sore because I beat you the last time we played." She said. "But that sounds like a good idea." Sam said, looking at her watch. "I'm going to call Cassie and finalize plans for tomorrow night. You guys can get settled in before we leave." She said.

"Same arrangement as last time, boys?" Vala asked.

"You are more than welcome to the top bunk, pigtails." Cam said to Vala as the four walked to the room where they had stayed when they went with Landry.

Sam and Jack watched them walk away as they argued who would sleep where, laughing softly. Sam sighed once they had disappeared from view, and Jack shifted his head to look at her. "What's up?" He asked, guiding her to lay against him as he leaned back on the couch.

She shook her head before tucking it into the crook of his neck. Closing her eyes, she spoke again. "It's just so good to have everyone here. You, Daniel, Cassie's going to be here tomorrow night…" Her voice grew silent. "I mean, the only person that's really missing is…"

Jack kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I know." He said softly in return. "Just remember, she's up there, no doubt looking after Charlie for me and she's counting on all of us to keep an eye on Cassie."

Sam lifted her head up to look at him, smiling. "I love you." She said.

"I love you too." He said as their lips met in a kiss.


	2. Always

AN: Smacks self upon the head Jacob! I talked about losing Janet, but I didn't say a darn thing about Jacob! I will try to fix.

Warnings: Maybe a low "T" rating on this chapter. Use of language to indicate that Sam and Jack went off for some private time, but nothing more. If talk of a bare back offends you, don't read. A couple of four-letter words, but not really used in a bad context.

* * *

**Under the Mistletoe: Chapter 2**

Supper at the steakhouse in Silver Bay had gone over famously. When Vala had mentioned to the waitress that Sam and Jack were engaged, they even received free dessert. Everyone had had a fantastic time, and now on the way back to the cabin, everyone was looking forward to decorating the tree.

Once back at the cabin, Teal'c brought out the box of Christmas decorations and Sam also brought out something. "You have an iPod?" Cam asked her, unbelieving. "You have a pink iPod?" He asked, unable to believe that fact more.

Sam was hooking it up to something so that it would play off the radio in the cabin, and carefully tried to hide her grin as Jack spoke. "You got a problem with a man getting something for his fiancée on Valentine's Day?" He asked.

Mitchell went pale. "No. Absolutely not, sir."

Jack grinned, clasping his shoulder. "Just joking with you, Mitchell. You and Vala are on light duty. Make sure you check every light of every strand." He said. "T, how about you commence with the tinsel? By the time you have that done, Vala and Mitchell should be done with the lights."

Teal'c smiled and nodded his head to Jack. "I shall begin, O'Neill."

"Good man. Always knew you had a soft spot for the tinsel." He said with a smile. "Daniel, you're on ornament duty. Make sure everything in the box is still in one piece for when we start putting those on." Jack said.

Cameron continued to be impressed with how the former team still was a team. They really hadn't served together as SG-1 since Jack had taken command of the SGC, so that meant three years. Yet, when he started throwing around the assignments, the former team just fell into place behind their former commander.

"And you, Colonel Carter, you and I are decorating the rest of the cabin." Jack said with a smile. "We should do up the other spare room for Cass." He said.

"That's a good idea." She agreed. "If we're not done by the time you guys are ready for the tree, come and get us." She told them.

"Make sure to close the door!" Daniel shouted after them with a smile. He had known the two long enough…He was going to get as much teasing out of this as he could.

* * *

"Are you sure it's going to take them a while?" Sam asked, catching her breath. 

Jack rolled to the side on his back, smiling as Sam immediately rolled to curl into his side. "I told Mitchell to check every light on every strand." He said, stroking her bare back. "I haven't known Vala long, but she seems like the type to actually do that."

Sam smiled, her finger tracing random patterns on his chest. "We should still get up, though. And I need a fast shower after that." She said, sitting up.

Jack sat up behind her, kissing her shoulder. "All right." He said, relenting. "But you owe me." He said.

"Oh, don't worry flyboy, I'll pay you in full." She said, walking to the shower.

* * *

"Okay! Vala, as the newest new person this year, you get to flip the switch to turn the tree on." Jack said, sitting next to Sam on the small love seat in the living room. He smiled and accepted her cup when she offered him some of her hot chocolate.

"Really?" She asked.

"Go for it, pigtails." Cam said, also sipping from his hot chocolate.

Vala squealed, finding the switch. The tree turned on magnificently, and for a moment all six of them sat proud of their work. "What's next?" Vala asked quietly.

"Movie time." Jack said. "Someone else go over, because like hell I'm getting up." And for good measure, he wrapped his arms around Sam's shoulders. "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation sound good?" He asked.

"Indeed." Teal'c said, standing up and going to the bookcase with the movies.

"C'mere." Jack said to Sam, shifting her so she sat on his lap. "Thanks, T." Jack said.

Daniel pulled Vala with him into the kitchen, saying they were going to pop some popcorn. Teal'c put the DVD into the DVD player and sat down in the recliner. Mitchell was by himself on the couch until Vala and Daniel returned with enough popcorn to feed a group twice their size.

"So, Muscles, you're going to have to explain this one to me." Vala whispered.

Sam laughed, resting her head on Jack's chest as she heard Teal'c begin to explain the premise of the movie during the previews.

* * *

After the movie, the group had split up, going to their respective places of sleep. Jack had ended up carrying Sam to their bed, teasing her when she woke up the second he put her on the bed.

"Ah, I just didn't want to walk." She teased in return with a smile, standing up to get ready for bed.

They had gone to sleep after that, Jack lying on his back and Sam curled in next to him. But when Jack woke up a few hours later, the spot on the bed next to him had been vacated. Sitting up, he saw that her shoes and jacket were no longer present in the room, so he decided to put on his own to see what she was up to.

He grabbed a blanket and found her on the dock. "What brings you out here, sleeping beauty?" He asked, sitting next to her.

She smiled at him, putting her head on his shoulder. "Just thinking." She said quietly.

He could hear the sadness in her voice. "Your dad?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

She nodded. "I wish he could be here." She said. "For the wedding, for seeing us triumph over another enemy, I know he would've loved my news about commanding the Daedalus for a while."

Jack nodded. "Well, Janet's up there giving him hell. Just remember that." He said with a smile, hoping to elicit one from her, too. He got his wish when he felt the slight chuckle that went though her body. "Sam?" He asked.

"Yeah?" She said, looking up at him.

"As much as I love this, I think my butt is freezing to the dock." He said. "Do you want to go inside and watch another movie?" He asked. "Then at least we'd have a couch…"

She smirked at him. "This coming from Midwest-raised Jack O'Neill?" She asked, doing a perfect imitation of Teal'c and his raised eyebrow.

"Smart-ass." He said, giving her a hand up.

"You know you love me." She said with a grin as they walked back to the cabin, their arms around the other. "I'm going to go put my sleeping clothes back on." She told him. "Pick out whatever looks good." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He bent his head down to trap her lips in his and they stayed locked in their embrace until they had to breathe. Even then, they were only apart by sheer millimeters. "I love you, Samantha Carter." He whispered, burying his face in her neck, gently the kissing the skin behind her ear. "Always."

That had been the word that begun their relationship. Ever since that day in the infirmary that her father died, "always" had been the world that kept her going. It had given her the strength to stop stringing Pete along, it had given her the strength to get through burying her father, and it had given her the strength to be able to give up the SGC for Area 51 to help Cassie get through her tough time. And it had been "always" that gave her the strength and confidence to return to the SGC to fight the Ori. It had kept her going on the Odyssey when Anateo's men held the ship hostage, and it had kept her going during everything else they had experienced in the last year.

Jack felt the same way. "Always" had given him his life back. He felt useless sometimes, not being able to go in the field because of his position, and he found himself often worrying about Sam and the rest of his former team when he knew they were going off-world. When Sam had spoken those words to him at the cabin, mainly, the word had given him hope. That every time they ran into something off-world, she was going to fight her hardest to get back and bring the rest of SG-1 back with her. That they'd still be there for each other forever. In more ways than one, the word "always" meant more to the two than "forever."

Sam hugged him in return, closing her eyes. So much had been lost over the past ten years, but they still had each other. She spoke softly.

"Always."

* * *

AN: I'm not sure how much more I'll be able to update before I leave for Christmas Break... Papers and finals are making my life crazy...

If you're reading Inside the Shroud, I'll try to update that after I get back to school in January. I'm sorry for the wait!


	3. Old Friends, New Friends

Yay! I have the internet again!Here's three chapters for you guys!**  
**

**Note:** I think the series has screwed up in regards to Cassie's age. In season 5 she was (I think) fourteen according to the amount of candles on her cake on Rite of Passage, and then suddenly in season 7 she's old enough not to require a new guardian? (So she had to have been at least eighteen.) So, just to be cool and make Cassie like me, I've decided to make her a sophomore in college. And to go along with the plotline in season 9 that had Sam leaving the SGC for Groom Lake to be closer to her, I have her going to the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.

Disclaimer: I think I forgot this in the last chapter. Don't sue me! I don't have anything of value, anyway.

This one will be a bit shorter, but hopefully that length will be made up in chapter 4. :-) More of Cassie's story in chapter 4.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Jack parked his truck in a lot at the University of Minnesota Duluth. They had arrived early, so he had gotten a parking spot close to the entrance, which had also allowed Sam to spot Cassie standing outside, waiting for them. Before he had the ignition shut off, Sam was unbuckling her seatbelt and going outside to greet her. He smiled too as he stepped out, watching the two hug as moved aside as Teal'c stepped out.

"It looks as though Cassandra Frasier is well, O'Neill." Teal'c noted.

Jack nodded. "Sam moving out to Groom Lake to be closer to her last year really did her some good." He told him, shaking his head as the vehicle with Cameron, Daniel and Vala made its way into the parking lot. "About time!" He shouted to Daniel, who had been driving. "Come on. Cass is up there with Sam." He told them, starting to walk to the entrance where Sam and Cassie were standing.

"Jack!" The college sophomore said happily, reluctantly breaking from Sam to give him a hug. "How's the fishing?" She asked.

"You know that fishing wasn't meant to be done under ice, Cassandra." Jack said. "Got some other people anxious to see you, too." He said, moving aside to reveal Daniel, Teal'c, Cameron and Vala.

She took her time with greeting Daniel and Teal'c, and then moved to the two she didn't know. "Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell." Cam introduced, shaking her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Cassandra." He said.

"You both can call me Cassie. Cassandra's just way too formal sometimes." She answered.

Vala smiled. "Wonderful. I'm Vala Mal Doran. I'm from out,"

"Outer Toronto." Sam quickly chimed in when a group of people walked by. "Vala's from outer Toronto, too." She finished.

"Nice thinking." Jack whispered in her ear. "I'll run your bag back to the truck, Cass." He said, pulling out his keys.

"Thanks." Cassie said, handing it to him.

He returned soon, taking Sam's hand in his. "Come on, everybody. Let's get inside. You have a ticket, Cass? Jack asked, pulling out his wallet, prepared to buy her one.

She nodded. "Friend of mine bought it yesterday with her student I.D card so I paid the U of M student price." She said, moving back up to Sam.

The group entered the performing hall, waiting in line with their tickets.

"They seem close." Vala noted to Daniel quietly as they waited in line. They saw the young woman rest her head on Sam's shoulder, and then Sam wrap an arm around her shoulders and kiss the top of her head. "I'm guessing she certainly isn't from Toronto, however." She said quietly after seeing if there was anyone behind them.

Daniel shook his head. "No. I'll fill you in on the way back to the cabin." He told her. Vala had disappeared into the Ori galaxy the same time Sam had returned from Area 51, so she hadn't been around to hear of Sam's time away from the SGC.

Cameron snapped his fingers. "That's Doc Frasier's adopted daughter." He said, putting that fact together. "I heard some of the nurses talking about her when I was in the hospital. She's off at UNLV if I remember correctly."

Teal'c nodded. "She is planning to follow in the footsteps of her mother and become a doctor."

Jack turned around, looking at the rest of them and how they had drifted ahead of them. "Hey, we don't bite, you know." Jack said.

"Your ticket, Jack." Sam said as they got to the entrance. He gave it to her and she presented the three tickets to the student in front of the performance hall. They waited for everyone else to hand over their tickets before entering the hall.

"So, campers, where should we sit?" Jack asked. He counted heads quickly. "Okay. Somewhere where there's seven seats."

"Over there." Cassie said, pointing.

Jack nodded. Cassie and Sam still hadn't let go of each other, so Jack let them take the lead. Having Cassie with them meant a lot to him, but he knew it meant so much more for Sam. He knew she wanted to spend as much time with the 20-year-old pre-med student as possible before starting her new temporary assignment.

Cassie filed into the empty row, followed by Sam, then Jack, then Teal'c, Daniel, Vala and Cameron. "Cassandra Frasier, those are my boots you're wearing." Sam said, looking down at her choice of footwear. "Did you steal those from me when I was living at Groom Lake?" She asked.

"Kinda." She said with a grin. "You just noticed they were gone?" She asked.

"I tried to find them one day, but figured they were still in a box somewhere." Sam said in return. "We'll have to discuss what other articles of clothing you have that belong to me sometime in the near future, young lady. I am moving soon, after all." She said.

Cassie's eyes lit up. "So you told them?" She asked. Sam nodded, smiling as Cassie hugged her. "Yay! That's so fantastic." She said. "Oh, did you bring one of your magical router-things to the cabin?" She asked Sam. A while back while repairing the wireless router in her house, Sam had somehow built a device that could grab a wireless internet connection out of nowhere, including the cabin, she had found out. "My Organic Chemistry professor is going to post our scores from the final a couple of days after Christmas and I'm really dying to see mine." She answered.

Sam nodded. "Once I explained it was mainly for you and not for me to do any work, he let me bring it up." She told her, facing the stage once again as the light dimmed and music started to play, signaling the start of the concert. She looked over at Jack when she felt his lips brush the top of her head. "Hey." She said quietly, kissing him in return.

He smiled. "Merry Christmas."

* * *

Like I said…shorter, but hopefully the length will get made up in chapter four. :-) Hope you're enjoying! 


	4. The Family SG1

**Note**: I realized I put this was a one-shot on my Note in chapter 1. This is turning out to be anything but a one-shot. This chapter is lengthy. :)

EDIT: Kind of lengthy. See end of chapter for explanation. :)

I'm starting to write this on January 1st.. Happy New Year! My resolution? Finish _Inside the Shroud_.

**Disclaimer**: Not mine…will return them to Bridge Studios with my receipt when I am finished.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

After the concert, the seven filed out of the auditorium and into the crowd outside. The three aliens were happy to see that it had snowed about an inch, and Teal'c and Cassie went about making plans to teach Vala the fine art of a snowball fight when they returned to the cabin. There was a small field next to the performance hall, and they had showed her the art of making the perfect snowball.

Cassie's hand flew to her pocket where her cell phone was. She had left it in her pocket during the concert, and it had been set on vibrate. "Hey Mal!" She said, happy to hear from her roommate. "How's Florida?" She asked.

Sam looked over at Jack. "Mallory's a talker just as much as she is. This could take a while." She said with a smile.

Cameron was hit in the back of a head with a snowball to whirl around and see Vala waving innocently at him. "You want to go, pigtails?" He asked. I'm going to kick your…"

"Promises, promises." She taunted, moving to stand beside Teal'c. "So, choose a side, Muscles. My darling Daniel will no doubt choose to aide Colonel Mitchell. Toronto versus Colorado? We'll have to get Cassie to assist us, of course."

"You're not going to get Cassie off the phone for a while." Sam said with a smile. She and Jack had taken a seat on a bench next to the small field.

Teal'c stepped back with a smile. "I will wait until we return to the cabin."

"Me too." Daniel said.

Vala threw another snowball, hitting him in the chest. "Now, you can't refuse that." She answered.

Cam answered by throwing his own snowball, an unspoken declaration of war. He had Vala on the run, being able to make the snowballs and throw them harder than she could. Teal'c watched with a smile and a raised eyebrow, and Daniel had his cell phone out, taking video of the whole thing. Sam was certain that whoever up losing this fight, images from this were going to be used as blackmail at some point; no doubt when Daniel wanted to get out of Gate room duty.

"I hate to cut this short, Mal, but we're about to take off for the cabin. The concert just ended. We're still in Duluth. Two of the people that Sam serves with just got into a huge snowball fight." Cassie said, giggling as she sat down next to Sam and Jack. "One of them is just scooping up snow with their arms." She said.

"Hi there, Mallory!" Sam said, loud enough to be heard through the cell.

"Ouch! Mal, don't shout in my ear. Hang on." She took the phone away from her ear and turned on the speakerphone. "Now do it." She instructed her friend.

"Hi Colonel Carter!" Cassie and her roommate this year had actually lived together last year as well, and that's how Sam knew her so well. "Cassie told me the great news! And the promotion!"

"Thank you, Mal." Sam said with a smile. "You're in Florida?"

"Family vacation." She answered. "So, any chance Cass is going to bring back some of those famous chocolate chip cookies of yours?"

Sam laughed. "Maybe. If she's good."

"Cass, so help me, you better be good. I want cookies."

Daniel turned around at the mention of Sam and cookies in the same sentence. "You make cookies?" He asked.

Sam shrugged nonchalantly as Mallory spoke, hearing Daniel. "Only the best cookies I've ever tasted." She continued through the phone.

"Carter secret family recipe." Sam answered with a grin as Cassie took the phone off speaker and brought it back to her ear to finish her conversation with her friend.

"Why don't I know this recipe?" Jack asked.

"You're not technically a Carter yet. I didn't want Ba'al or the Replicators getting a hold of it." She said with a smile. "Only four people on this Earth know what it is. Mark, his wife Meredith, Cassie and myself."

"Details, details." Jack said.

"And it's not beer." Sam interjected.

"Okay. Hey, have a good Christmas, Mal. I'll call you sometime, text you, whatever. I know before I go back, Sam and I are going to go shopping for stuff for school." Cassie said. "Bye." She answered, sliding her phone closed.

Jack saw Cassie put away her phone. "Okay! Everybody in the vehicles. T, how about you hop in with Sam, Cass and I?" He asked. "It'll save you from being stuck in between Vala and Mitchell." He added quietly.

Teal'c smiled as Cassie hugged him again. "Indeed, O'Neill."

"You two can talk about the latest movie you've seen and all that fun stuff." Sam said with a smile, getting into the truck. "You hungry, Cass? We can hit a drive-through or something. Or we've got food at the cabin, too. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream." She enticed with a smile.

"That works." She said.

--------Back at the Cabin--------

Jack pulled up to the cabin, followed by Daniel. Cassie jumped out of the truck eagerly, scooping up some snow and immediately hurling it at Jack. "Hey now! I help you pay for college!" He shouted indignantly.

"Come on, Jack! Have some fun." Cassie said.

"Yeah," Jack didn't see it, but Sam was shaping her own snowball. "Have some fun, you newly retired," she threw the snowball at him as she spoke the last word, "General."

"Oh, that's it." He said, making a huge snowball and taking off after Sam, who ran to go hide behind Teal'c. "T, you know you don't scare me." He said.

Vala had taken this opportunity to get back at Cam, and was currently chasing him around one of the pickups. Daniel was in the process of sneaking up on Cassie, who was currently trying to make a snowball that was as big as her head. Daniel got Cassie, but the college sophomore pulled Daniel into the snow bank next to her with a laugh.

Teal'c decided to join the fight, leaving Sam to face off with Jack. What Jack didn't realize was that Sam had had the opportunity to make an armful of snowballs compared to his one. He took off running as Sam threw her arsenal at him, and once she ran out, she jumped on his back, piggyback style. "Surprise." She said with a smile.

He grinned back, seeing a snow bank near them. He threw the both of them down on it, laughing when he heard her shriek of surprise. He rolled over to face her. "Surprise." He returned, kissing her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.. "Come on. Let's go bury everyone else. Keep them distracted and I'll get a shovel." He said.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again. "Absolutely. But we don't bury Cass." She said.

"She started it." He answered.

"Cass is on my side. If she's on my side, she's on your side." Sam said.

Jack groaned. "Fine. You get her out." He got up, running towards the shed.

Sam went to the dogpile of SG-1 members; by this time, Cassie had made her way up and was rolling what looked like could be the base of a snowman. She whispered their plan to her, and she and Cassie started pummeling the others with snowballs. Jack returned, shoveling snow on the remaining members of SG-1 still on the ground, and then stuck the shovel in the snow and spoke again. "Okay! Enough of that. It's pretty clear that Sam, Cassie and I all kicked your butts, so now it's time to go inside and hit the showers, and not track snow and mud all over my cabin."

"First up!" Cassie called, grabbing her bags out of the truck and heading up the stairs.

* * *

Okay…I said this would be lengthy, but as I was typing it on my computer, it got to be a little too lengthy. So I split it up. Next chapter basically all Sam and Cassie, with Sam/Jack at the end. 


	5. The Ties That Bind

**Note**: A conversation between Cassie and Vala—I mean, they are both from outer space, but this chapter mainly centers on Sam and Cassie.

**Disclaimer**: If the Stargate writers are reading this, I'm going to think they have too much time on their hands. Anyway,…Don't own a darn thing. And if I did…well, let's leave that for another time, shall we?

I haven't felt like writing really fluffy fluff these days. I think this will be my last chapter for a few days…I'll watch some shippy eps and recharge my batteries.

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**Chapter 5**

Cassie had showered, followed by Vala, and then Teal'c had muscled his way in front of Daniel and Cam. Sam and Jack were using the shower in the master bedroom.

Before stepping into the shower, Jack had started the fire in the living room, and that's where Vala found Cassie. The 20 year old was dressed in a University of Nevada sweatshirt with flannel sleeping pants, and she was reading a book. A well-read book by the looks of it. Vala craned her head to read the title. _Brave New World_. "Hi." Vala said to her.

"Hi." Cassie returned with a smile, putting a bookmark in her book.

"I didn't mean to disrupt you or anything,"

Cassie shook her head. "No big deal." She said. "Were you a host?" She asked.

Vala remembered what Daniel had said about the young woman being able to sense naquadah without being a host herself. She nodded. "I was. She was named Qaetesh. I'd probably still be her host if it hadn't been for the Tok'ra." She answered. "I hear you're from my neck of the woods." She said. "Outer space, that is."

"I was born on a planet named Hanka." She explained. "Where were you born?" She asked.

Vala grinned. "I was born in a stolen Gou'ald Al'kesh. Not sure what planet it was, though."

"Things make so much more sense now." Daniel said, walking by the living room to get something from the kitchen.

Vala threw a pillow at his retreating form. "I mean, I thought I knew, but then my father told me differently. My mother isn't here to confirm or disprove; she died while she was giving birth to me." She told her. "How did you become so adjusted? I mean, now that there's no one really to fight, there are times where I definitely feel like 'the alien' of the group. When we first met tonight, I just thought that you were any other American college student."

Cassie laughed. "I have a lot of experience at this. Watching lots of television and reading many books." She answered. "This one is a good read if this is your first Earth book. I think Daniel has a copy." She said, holding up her book. "Brave New World. Sam gave this to me for my thirteenth birthday. I read it at least two times a year." She told her. "Although, you could probably tell."

"May I look at it?" She asked.

"Absolutely." Cassie said, giving it to her. "It takes time to get adjusted to this life. I mean, I came here just after I turned eleven, too. I mean, I was just another adopted kid. Mom, I don't know what you know, but Doctor Janet Frasier adopted me, Mom did a lot to help, and then Sam, Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c all helped too. Teal'c and I kind of helped each other." She smiled, remembering their mutual discovery of the Star Wars Trilogy and subsequent prequels. "By the time I got to high school, I was an American teenager. I fought with my mother, wanted to date, wanted a later curfew, wanted to dye my hair, basically wanted to do everything she didn't let me. These days, I never go anywhere without my cell phone, and my iPod that Sam got me for my birthday last year rarely gets more than 20 feet away from me." She said.

Vala gave the book back to her, nodding. "So, the feeling does go away?"

Cassie nodded with a smile. "You bet. You'll be trading movie reviews with Teal'c and I in no time." She told her.

Vala smiled. "Thank you." She said, standing up. "Colonel Carter has talked so much about you in the past year, and I've seen so many pictures of you; it's nice to put a name and person with the face." She said.

Sam walked in, speaking as she threw on a sweatshirt, which Vala noticed also said University of Nevada. "So, Cass, ice cream time?" She asked, poking her head out through the top. She noticed Vala as she did so. "You're welcome to join us, Vala." She added.

She shook her head. "Daniel made a comment earlier, and when he's getting out of the shower would be a perfect time to get back at him." She said, smiling. "It was nice talking to you." She said to Cassie.

"You too. I hope we can do it again." She answered in return. She stood up when Vala left, put her hair in a ponytail and walked over to Sam in the kitchen. "So, what movie are we all watching tonight?" She asked, sitting on the counter, then promptly sliding off after Sam's look.

"I'm not sure." Sam answered, grabbing the ice cream. "Teal'c was talking up The Fifth Element earlier today." She said.

"That movie is so bad it's amazing! I'm totally all for watching that." She said, grabbing a couple of spoons. "Where's Jack?" She asked.

"On the phone, making final plans to transfer Homeworld Security to General Landry."

Cassie ate a bit of the ice cream, then suddenly got a thoughtful look on her face. "Sam? Can I ask you something?" She asked.

Sam looked at her. "Absolutely. You know that."

"Is the Stargate going to go public now?" She asked.

Sam thought it over for a moment, and realized that there was an underlying question to her question. _Am I going to go public? _They may have gotten Ba'al, but Athena had evaded their grasps, and there were still rogue factions of The Trust still on Earth. Sam had spent many a night thinking about the day the Stargate program would go public. Teal'c had kept his identity as a Jaffa during his years in service to Earth, and hadn't left the base much except for the brief time he had an apartment. Cassie had lived among the population for all of her time on Earth. Sam herself had felt weird enough living outside of the base again after being host to Jolinar; she couldn't imagine how Cassie's friends and classmates would feel, knowing Cassie had been forced to lie about her past for ten years. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. "I'm going to try my hardest to keep you out of any revelation of the Stargate the government may have planned. I know Jack already asked the President to keep you, Teal'c and Vala out of the spotlight. No matter how things fall, no one is going to know about last year. As far as I'm concerned, that chapter in your life is locked away and closed forever."

Cassie nodded, staying in Sam's embrace. "I'm not too proud of who I was back then. I said some horrible things…to you mostly. And you resigned from SG-1 and moved to Nevada to help me get back on track."

"I know it wasn't you that said those things. I know because I said some of those things to my father after my mother died." She said in return. "Just remember, you got me back on track, too."

Cassie hugged her for another moment, thankful for the fact she had been lucky to come across three great women to have in her life. Mika, her biological mother, Janet, her adoptive mother, and Sam. She let go and went back to the ice cream as the others began to file into the living room. "T! I hear you want to watch The Fifth Element."

"Indeed." He said with a smile.

"Put me down for that movie, too." Cassie told him.

"Is that the one with the annoying fellow with the strange hair and the angry cab driver?" Vala asked. "And the singing blue alien?" She asked. Teal'c nodded. "That one sounds delightful." She said.

"At least it's not Star Wars." Jack said, coming from the master bedroom. "Teal'c, if you'll do the honors." He said, taking Sam's spoon and taking a bite of the ice cream. "I'm going to make some popcorn." He ate another bite.

"Are you going to make some popcorn or eat our ice cream?" Cassie asked dryly.

Jack took a third bite in response.

Sam was leaning on the counter next to Jack, looking at him. "Can I have my spoon back?" She asked.

He looked at it, and then back at Sam with a look that clearly said, 'oh, yeah! That's not mine.' "Sorry." He said, handing it back to her and grabbing three popcorn bags. Teal'c would get one bag, then Cam, Vala and Daniel would share another, and Sam, Jack and Cassie would share the third.

"You want to save this for later, Cass?" Sam asked. "We'll eat the popcorn now." She said.

"That works."

-----Movie Movie Movie------

"That was a wonderful movie." Vala announced as Teal'c took The Fifth Element out of the DVD player. "I knew a man like Corbin at one time. He was a bounty hunter."

Jack raised an eyebrow, speaking softly after seeing Cassie had fallen asleep. "Knew a bounty hunter once. Needless to say he wasn't as charming as good ol' Corbin." He stood up. "I'll take her." Jack said to Sam. He brought his arms around her and picked her up. "I'll be back." He said.

"I think I'm going to head to bed." Cam said, standing up and stretching. The others quickly followed, leaving Sam sitting on the couch by herself, sitting in the glow of the tree.

She looked up and smiled when Jack's hands squeezed her shoulders gently, kissing her neck. "Hey there." He said. "Everybody else head to bed?" He asked, sitting next to her and taking her in his arms.

She nodded, relaxing. "Yeah." She answered. She leaned forward and grabbed a blanket, covering the two of them with it.

"Are we falling asleep here?" Jack asked.

"Maybe." Sam returned.

Jack didn't have a problem with that, so he stayed as he was as the two lovers stayed up for the next few hours, talking about having Cassie at the cabin, upcoming wedding plans and even discussing if Thor was going to show up. Sam fell asleep first, and when Jack realized that she had nodded off, he bent his head down to kiss her softly. "Good night."

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970 Hits! You guys are great! Thanks to my reviewers! 


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